Mayor, council to work on plan for allowing public to address councilByBrooke ChambersReporter

DOVER - After the unusually high attendance of this week's city council meeting, Dover Mayor Alan Bradley and City Attorney Michael Robbins decided to devise a plan before next month for allowing the public to address the council during future meetings.

While looking at the crowd of about 150 people Tuesday night, Bradley said, "This is what I want. I want you to hold me accountable. I want everybody to be here, and I don't want anything hidden. ... Because this city don't belong to me or [the council], it belongs to you all."

But as the city's business came to a close without the council hearing from anyone in the audience, people in the crowd began asking why they weren't allowed to speak during the meeting.

Although Bradley said previously he didn't want to keep the meeting attendees at city hall all night, he agreed to adjourn the official council meeting and let a handful of people speak or ask questions about their concerns.

The first question from the audience was, "What do you have against [Police Chief] Rod Pheifer?"

On his first day as mayor, Bradley demoted Pheifer to a part-time officer and named Donald Ramirez as chief.

Bradley answered the question. "I don't have anything against Rod. Rod is a fine person. All I'm saying is the police department could be updated."

Another audience member asked about needed renovations at the city park the council previously discussed. Alderman Roger Lee answered although it didn't come up in the meeting. The city had received a bid for the upgrades, and they would be paid for through the bond issues recently voted into effect.

Several people in the crowd complained to the council they were not notified of the meeting in which Carl Wetzel was appointed by the council to take former Alderman Ronald Robinson's seat after his resignation in November.

"I guess we feel like we were cheated out of a councilman because we didn't have a say," one said.

Aldermen and the city attorney all argued the meeting was publicized and open to the public. Robbins also encouraged anyone wishing to speak to the council to contact City Clerk Wilma Lovelady and be placed on the council's agenda.

The only meeting attendee who asked to be on Tuesday's agenda was Joe Anderson, a school board member, who read a letter from the board at the beginning of the meeting commending Chief Pheifer and the police department for working to keep the school children safe during high-traffic times at the schools throughout the years.

Pheifer was out of town and could not be present at this week's meeting.

In other business:

n Bradley accepted a bill for $99 to replace locks broken on file cabinets at city hall. Lee passed the bill to Bradley during the meeting, noting the city should not pay for something Bradley destroyed.

Bradley said he would pay for the damages and admitted he made a poor decision by breaking the locks. He said, however, his actions were not illegal because he accessed the files after he was sworn in as mayor.

When the bill was passed to the mayor, audience members began passing a hat around the room to collect money to pay the bill.

n The council approved an ordinance that would not allow the mayor to hire or terminate any city employee without the council's permission. The city ordinance excluded department head positions, which by state law can be appointed by the mayor without the council's approval.

n The council agreed the city attorney, at Bradley's request, should look into developing a policy and procedures manual for the police department and other city personnel.

Alderman first argued with the mayor about developing a manual, but when Robbins suggested the council look into the idea for legal purposes, the council agreed.

n The council tabled their discussion on changing the city's current bid process. Lee and Chris Loper suggested the city ordinance that allowed former Mayor Johnny Waldo to spend up to $5,000 of the city's money without consulting the council be amended to give the new mayor power to spend only up to $600 without the council's approval.

Fire Chief John Taylor and Robbins spoke out against the request, each explaining the proposed idea would make money management too cumbersome. Special meetings of the council would have to be held multiple times throughout the week, they said.

"At some point, you've got to put some trust in the man," Robbins told the council.

Alderman George Boyd suggested the council leave the ordinance amount at $5,000 unless Bradley abuses city money.

The discussion is expected to continue next month; no decisions were made.

During an executive session, Dover residents held mini-meetings in and outside of city hall discussing their opinions on how the city was handled in the past and what they foresee in the future.

Walter McQueen, a Dover resident of 20 years, said in an interview, "We need to let the mayor do his job. We elected him, and he has had nothing but opposition since he's been in office. Give him a break. Stop letting the council run Dover, and let the people run Dover."

Listening in nearby, 10-year resident Ruth Wood disagreed and said, "We elected our aldermen to represent us, so we need to let them do their job and represent us."